Evidence of porn, or what could loosely be described as erotica, has been found in many ancient cultures. Think rock carvings and cave paintings. Although this is more likely to be involved with fertility and appreciation of female goddesses, rather than encouraging masturbation. But it has been suggested pornography serves an evolutionary purpose, so it is entirely plausible porn was hit upon as a method of encouraging procreation early on in society.
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The era of porn really took off, mainly in impolite society, was the Victorian ages. Oh,yes, those ankles. However, they really owe it to the Romans, lots of erotic art was discovered during excavations of Pompeii, what else is the logical following action if not to try and emulate it. French impressionism was a big player here; art has traditionally been freer with its sexual connotations than most other forms of media. Can you imagine if the Sunday Times suddenly printed a naked picture of the Queen, in honour of her jubilee? Isn’t jubilee a lovely word? The Sun is of course the exception to the rule. The Victorians cottoned on pretty quick and soon passed laws making it illegal to distribute items of an “obscene nature”. Making it illegal to own (specific types, such as child pornography) is a relatively recent change in legislation, rather worryingly.
The official first English pornography in prose format was “Fanny Hill” by John Cleland, I’m not sure if this is the root of all M-rated fan fiction or if teenagers came up with that one all on their own. Magazines were the natural progression from literature and obviously as soon as moving pictures were invented (in 1895) some genius realised there was huge profit to be made. Some people argue that the reason the DVD really took off was because of how useful it was in the porn industry. But to believe that you probably need a slightly more cynical view of human nature than I possess.
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To move into evolutionary stages that directly affect you, my dearest readers, the growing market for porn aimed at females may have shaped the whole industry. Some estimates suggest that around 1 in 3 of online pornographic purchases are made by women. Steve Hirsch, CEO of Vivid Entertainment, estimates 30-40% of market is now female. What does this mean? I’m told there has been an increasing demand for more storyline, foreplay and romance. Perhaps this is influenced by the rise of the female porn directors and producers. Even the format and delivery of erotica is subtly changing; sites like redtube or youporn make it very easy to target what you want to watch, and avoid all the scary things that might ruin your entire childhood. Rule 34, if you can imagine it, it exists somewhere on the internet… Disney porn anyone? Sex shops that used to have a sleazy reputation are morphing into female orientated ‘boutiques’which make it sound a lot more classy and glamorous. Although none of this can explain to me the bizarre porn I watched the first five minutes of on tumblr, in which a lemon tree seemed to be pivotal to the plot….
Over and out,
Todostrieb
Ps. if anyone looks at my internet history I'm totally doomed.
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